‘Just stop talking’: Donald Trump evades abortion query while voting in Florida

Donald Trump is slated to take charge of a nation with deepening political and cultural fissures and a worried electorate within the next two months. Abortion rights were on the ballot for at least nine states on Tuesday — with several states opting to unravel stringent curbs. The President-elect however avoided abortion-related questions while casting his ballot in Florida.
“Just stop talking about that” he snapped at a reporter upon being pressed about his stance on Tuesday.
Videos of the snippet have since gone viral on social media platforms with many lambasting the Republican for “avoiding tough questions”. Others reminded that his wife Melania was also ‘pro-choice’ — as evinced by her passionate defense of abortion rights in an upcoming memoir.
The senior politician has remained somewhat vague about his stance and hinted at moderation during the 2024 campaign even as fellow Republicans call for drastic curbs. Trump however took credit for the Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe vs Wade in 2022 and stressed his role in appointing three of the top judges. 
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land,” he said in a social media video earlier this year.
Trump appears to have held shifting views on abortion over the course of the 2024 election campaign — at times leaving conservatives and anti-abortion rights groups frustrated.
A second presidential term for Donald Trump could herald a new wave of attacks on abortion access across the United States — with or without a Republican-controlled Congress. The President-elect had previously suggested that he might veto any anti-abortion “ban” that lands on his desk.
The outcomes of ballot initiatives that sought to overturn strict abortion bans in Florida and Missouri were ‘very important’ to a majority of voters in the states. Florida has one of the most stringent anti-abortion laws at present with a six-week ban that took effect in May.
Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota have now become the first states since Roe was overturned where abortion opponents prevailed on a ballot measure. Most voters supported the Florida measure, but it fell short of the required 60% to pass constitutional amendments in the state. Most states require a simple majority.
(With inputs from agencies)